The 2022 African Individual Chess Championship 2022

The 2022 African Individual Chess Championship 2022 – Day 5 Report

The 2022 African Individual Chess Championship entered the rest day after five thrilling rounds that saw ‘Simba wa Misri‘ (Lion of Egypt) GM Adly firmly perched at the top with 4.5 points. His compatriot GM Amin Bassem, IM David Silva of Angola, IM Fy Rakotomaharo of Madagascar and Jemuss Zhemba of Zimbabwe are in joint second with 4 points.

GM Ahmed Adly (left) versus FM Lovet Bomo Kigigha of Nigeria in their round five encounter. Photo credit Babatunde Ogunsiku.

Timothy Kabwe, in round two, missed a tactical knockout blow on the move 32 in his game against GM Hesham Abdelrahman of Egypt. He played 32……..Rxh4 instead of Rg4+ 33. Kf1 Bg2+ 34. Ke1 Rxd4 to go a piece up.

GM Bassem dropped a vital half-point when IM Mariano Ortega of Cape Verde held him to a draw in round three.

IM Mariano Ortega in blue versus GM Bassem Amin which ended in a draw. Photo credit Francisco Carapinha.

Upsets galore

Another exciting game in round three was when Gong Thon Gong of South Sudan held IM Fy Rakotomaharo of Madagascar to a draw despite a +300 Elo difference in rating. The 23-year-old Gong Thon Gong is a rising star who won all three phases of the 2022 South Sudan Olympiad Qualifiers!

Another upset in round four occurred when local star FM Lovet Bomo Kigigha (2196) dismissed IM Mariano Ortega (2474) of Cape Verde, who was seeded fourth at the event’s start.

View of the playing hall. Photo credit Mario Kpan.

GM Kenny Solomon of South Africa found the going tough in round five with a dramatic loss to another local talent Callistus Denyefa Eyetonghan.

Round five saw an exciting encounter with GM Bassem demonstrating the power of the bishop pair over the knights in his game against Timothy Kabwe of Zambia.

Ladies Section

In the Ladies Section, three-time winner WGM Shahenda Wafa of Egypt is firmly in control and leading with 4.5 points. Her only draw came in round three against Rosemary Amadasun of Nigeria.

WIM Caxita Esperanca of Angola is in second place with 4 points.

WGM Shahenda Wafa (left) versus Jemima Paulo of Angola. Photo credit Babatunde Ogunsiku.

The nine-round event runs from 18th to 27th September 2022 at the plush Orchid Hotel in downtown Lagos the largest city in Nigeria.

Nadezhda Marochkina of Senegal who is also the Vice-President of the African Chess Confederation. Photo credit Babatunde Ogunsiku.

Rest Day

Players spent the much-needed rest day visiting downtown Lagos’s world-renowned Nike Art Foundation Gallery.

The Nike Art Foundation of Nigeria is the sole initiative of Chief (Mrs.) Nike Okundaye with the principal objective of using it to develop and enhance Nigerian cultural heritage.